Deconstructing+Deficit+Thinking

DECONSTRUCTING DEFICIT THINKING Working With Educators to Create More Equitable Learning Environments SHERNAZ B. GARCÍA PATRICIA L. GUERRA

This was one of the most compelling articles I have read so far in this course. At first, I could sense myself become defensive at the statements that Garcia and Guerra were making about teachers and teacher training. They see many educational problems stemming from educators being “unwilling to assume responsibility for students’ low achievement and failure” (p. 150) as well as “inadequate preparation by institutions of higher education of their predominantly white, middle-class, female teachers to work with this [culturally linguistically diverse] population” (p.152). As much as I wish this wasn’t the case, I think these statements are unfortunately true for many teachers and teacher education programs.

The authors identify 5 underlying assumptions that contribute to deficit thinking: “(a) deficit thinking permeates society; schools and teachers mirror these beliefs; (b) professional development in diversity is not just for White educators; (c) intercultural communication permeates every aspect of schooling; (d) cultural sensitivity and awareness do not automatically result in equity practices; and (e) professional development activities must systematically and explicitly link equity knowledge to classroom practices” (p. 154).

A striking observation that Garcia and Guerra made was that often teachers’ well intentioned care and concern for their students resulted in lower expectations of their students. The authors note that “expressions of caring often occurred at the expense of academic instruction” (p. 161). I never considered how caring for my students’ emotional and physical well-being could cause me to subconsciously “write off the learning potential” (p. 161) of my students. The point here is not to stop caring for our students; of course this is one of our most important roles as teachers. The point is that we must have the same expectations for these students and help them achieve their learning potential. As I write this, I realize that this is much easier said than done. When a student comes to us with emotional or physical needs not being met, we know that learning cannot take place until we help meet those needs. I think the authors want teachers to consider how to meet those needs without sacrificing the learning that must take place in order for students to be successful.

Teachers love to complain about why students are not being successful- it’s their home life, the lack of parent support, their income level, their eating habits, etc. Manay teachers think that the “solution would be found in better parent training or parent education programs” (p. 163). This is an example of deficit thinking, and Garcia and Guerra would say that we need to focus on how the teacher, teacher training, and school culture may be contributing to the problem. Even though teachers are getting some (limited) training on culturally responsive teaching and pedagogy, Garcia and Guerra do not think enough explicit links are being made between theory and practice. Teachers may understand a concept about cultural responsive teaching in their head, but it’s another thing entirely to be able to implement the practice in their classrooms. To read about a great example of a culturally responsive teaching practice for immigrant students, check out this post about using wordless books in the classroom.